Welcome to health and safety in Beijing, the Beijing expat website providing information in English on health and safety issues in this great city.
Are you about to relocate to Beijing? You will certainly have many concerns before your move, none more so than your health.
You don’t need to worry! There are several international standard healthcare providers in Beijing that cater to expats.
There are also many companies offering products and services to help you stay healthy during your stay in Beijing.
Expat Life in Beijing
You are in for a treat when moving to Beijing!
The 2018 edition of the survey “Amazing China — the Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Expats” ranked Beijing second, just behind Shanghai, for overall quality of life.
The Beijing expat life is full of cultural activities, gourmet dining and social networking. There are also many fascinating sites in and near to Beijing to explore on the weekends.
Expats in Beijing
The number of senior expats in Beijing has decreased substantially in the last decade. This is partly due to poor air quality, but more so to the trend towards localization in foreign enterprises.
In recent years, however, a new crop of expats has been finding their way to Beijing. Some of these younger entrepreneurial expats start their own companies, but many more find jobs locally in China.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of these expats to temporarily leave China, we see the numbers growing again as soon as a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available.
Advice from Expats to Expats
Getting the most out of your time in Beijing definitely requires you to stay healthy and safe. But that can be difficult when information is not easily accessible.
Due to the lower number of expats, many service providers which originally targeted the traditional Beijing expat have shut down. Even the ones that do survive often no longer have English language websites.
Learning some practical Chinese is one solution, but Chinese is a very difficult language. You are sure, therefore, to need some help from local friends and fellow expats to navigate around your new city.
The articles on this website are written by expats who have lived in Beijing for a number of years. They understand the difficulties you are experiencing just as they did when they first arrived.
As suppliers in Beijing rely less and less on English websites, the lists on this website include WeChat accounts whenever available. This is the channel through which many companies now promote their business.
We also provide information on the costs of various products and services to help you find ones that fit your budget.
Staying Healthy in Beijing
The infamous Beijing air quality has improved substantially since 2013 when the term Airpocalypse was coined. That year, China launched its first air pollution action plan which brought great results.
Despite being labeled the most polluted capital in the world for air pollution in 2013, Beijing has now fallen out of the list of the world’s 200 most polluted cities.
Nevertheless, air pollution numbers in Beijing are still higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) standard as well as China’s own looser air quality standard.
Taking precautions with air purifiers and face masks is critical to reduce the impacts to your health from air pollution.
Water quality is another health concern in China. You should not drink tap water in Beijing directly. Having a high-quality drinking water filter installed, however, is economical and relatively easy.
Then there is always the issue of food quality in China. Some expats will want only vegan or vegetarian food in Beijing. Other expats will prefer organic food in Beijing. Fortunately, all of these healthy foods can be found here with little effort.
To help you stay in top physical shape, there is a wide variety of expat sports and fitness clubs. Not only will you improve your health, but make new friends along the way.
You are also welcome to visit our Shanghai expat website. Apart from information tailored to Shanghai expats, you can also find articles relevant to expats around all of China.
We have information on the COVID-19 outbreak including the race for a vaccine. As well, you can find articles on how to deal with poor air quality such as the one on air pollution solutions available in China.
Visit and Compare
You can contact the wide choice of suppliers listed on this website directly to make your own comparisons.
We encourage you to visit the various international hospitals and clinics when you first arrive in Beijing to become familiar with their locations, what services they offer, and their costs. It is important you have a medical insurance plan before you arrive and become familiar with its policies so you are prepared for any medical issues that might arise.
If you know of quality providers in Beijing not listed in the relevant articles on this site you are welcome to contact this site to provide updates. You are also welcome to contribute content that can help your fellow expats.
Click on the menu items at the top of the page to find more useful health and safety information for expats in Beijing.